Today the semifinal round of the 2009 Int'l Amateur Piano Competition was held at Koiwa Urban Plaza, Tokyo. Though I did not take part in this year, went to see and listen to the performances of the participants, many of them are either friends of mine or at least I got to know through various events since last year.
Per A division, any piece by J.S. Bach is mandatory, plus a piece of participant's choice is played. It appears that the primary criterion is how your play Bach, which I believe to be quite reasonable given the fact that any of his requires solid fundamentals, the very essence of how you create the sound, your takt, precision, because simply placing the notes as they are given does not appeal at all, and correctly playing J.S. Bach pieces test your mental strengths as well especially in the pressure-cooker situation on the stage of a competition.
There were many performances that I really enjoyed, and from every one of them I learned a lot, which was not possible if I participated in the competition myself. In hindsight, probably my decision not to participate was to the point, I guess. Above all, it was a great motivator.
2009/05/04
Spare 5 mins every day for planning practice
As with most, or probably all, or non-professional pianists, it must be a common issue to find time for, and to make most of, i.e. make it most effective and efficient, practice time.
For that purpose, I make it a rule to spare at least five minutes to plan the practice for the day, often write down the most critical points to focus on, and/or issues to overcome, many of which are small details, e.g. try alternative fingerings for bars xx to xx for a particular piece.
When it comes to piano, as with many other pursuits, progress should be very slow. Therefore it is important to make steady progress each day of practice, however small it may be. Making the focal points clear is meant to ensure that small progress.
I also have a checklist consisting of approximately 100 items to check if I play right at any time, ranging from hand forms, breathing, posture to "sound landscape" in my brain. Since there are so many to think about and do right simultaneously, it requires patience and intelligence to make them "natural" to me, oftentimes requiring me to "unlearn" old bad habits, which is more challenging than learning new things.
One of the biggest "old bad habits" that I have come to unlearn just recently is to flex my wrists and forearms, learning at the same time to concentrate my full attention to fingertips placing them closer to the keys.
For that purpose, I make it a rule to spare at least five minutes to plan the practice for the day, often write down the most critical points to focus on, and/or issues to overcome, many of which are small details, e.g. try alternative fingerings for bars xx to xx for a particular piece.
When it comes to piano, as with many other pursuits, progress should be very slow. Therefore it is important to make steady progress each day of practice, however small it may be. Making the focal points clear is meant to ensure that small progress.
I also have a checklist consisting of approximately 100 items to check if I play right at any time, ranging from hand forms, breathing, posture to "sound landscape" in my brain. Since there are so many to think about and do right simultaneously, it requires patience and intelligence to make them "natural" to me, oftentimes requiring me to "unlearn" old bad habits, which is more challenging than learning new things.
One of the biggest "old bad habits" that I have come to unlearn just recently is to flex my wrists and forearms, learning at the same time to concentrate my full attention to fingertips placing them closer to the keys.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)